david in sweden

well if you were one of the 95% then you deserve a say too ! ..and you made the exact same point in your reply. When the subject was being discussed at the end of last season there was a decided majority that said;" we don't need anyone, Ricky can score 30 goals ..and the others will make up the difference." My arguement was that in the case of; injuries, loss of form or suspensions we have problems ..and now...we do. With all the player activity since July 1st..I cannot believe that AP couldn't find " someone " capable of filling the gap " or was it NC who knew he would sack AP and wouldn't sanction any more buys? I was reluctant to write as I did, but it was really aimed at those who ignored the possibility of the fact that we are now in that situation. As a Saints fan for over 50 years ...I have a right to an opinion as much as anyone and in all honesty I hope we do find an alternative from within the ranks because the " best of the rest" have certainly moved onto other clubs by now. I'll restrain myself from any more outbursts if it pleases you , meanwhile I'm off to my son's wedding today..let's hope we have a good result to come home to.

to ignore the chance to sign some cover for the strikers. So now we are without Lallana for 6 weeks..and Barnard for three matches..that leaves Ricky and Connolly as the only available strikers. Maybe ...Cortese vetoed the idea because he knew he was going to can AP? Maybe AP didn't find / couldn't get... the player he wanted, but to all those who said we were OK up front, and didn't need anyone.. I'm one of those people who; together with some of the regulars..who raised the subject several times. I really don't like saying " I told you so " ..but this is exactly the scenario I feared and the truth is obvious to all. Sorry NC - but BAD planning ! ..not least because if you're going to sack someone..OK.. but you should have someone new... ready to step in...when you drop the axe!

If this is true...? then Reed has become a " de facto DOF " even if he doesn't have the title.

maybe AP took up the third year option on Pulis, and thats why he got sacked ..can't think of any worse reason...!

rather like the Plymouth and Orient games ...you mean ?

[quote=Kingsbridge Saint;829308 Feel sorry for Pards and Cortese needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat with the next manager - the likes of Paul Hart will not cut it with the fans or the players - but loan signings might have been part of the Masterplan. The timing fits. MY REPLY; I hope it isn't, otherwise prepare yourselves for some loan signings of the former Pompey rejects ...who helped them get relegated.

WHICH weekend. If this was " a planned sacking ", the new man should have been in place by Monday afternoon. WHO is going to make the decision ..based on Cortese's knowledge of English lower league foorball? .......IF we 'd had a DOF in place ..the job might have been easier. An Italian banker ... interviewing a fast-talking third rate English manager ...might be fooled by anyone. I hope he doesn't throw " the short list " in the waste basket afterwards, I have a dreadful feeling that he might have to return to it a few more times before next May.

Personally, I don't think that we would have lost 0-3 if AP had still been with SFC...(I know it's easy to say that , but ...)

I wrote on precisely this subject on " Fair play Dean,...# comment 33 .. so I won't repeat it , but ..I agree 100% :

Forget it!... it won't happen. Cortese's management training hasn't taught him to do that sort of thing. Leaders in any branch of work need authority. In banking ..it's obedience and following instructions. Footballers respond best by showing respect for the manager..it's not the same thing. Cortese sacking of Pardew after a 4-0 away win will go down in the Guiness Book of Records as the most unlikely sacking in football history. This action resembles a script from a Martin Scorcese film more than a directive from Nicola Cortese! For whatever reason Cortese has obviously been waiting for a moment to sack Pardew..(and the week after winning the JPT wasn't appropriate)..but even more damning is the fact that he didn't have plans for a new man in place by lunchtime on Monday. Even if he were right to sack AP, and even if things do " come out in the wash " his actions in the next few days will show how much of a " Saints fan" he is, or if he has " taken up the robe of RL" . AP successor had better have a good dressing room style and a thick skin if he is to succeed this season. The media suggestion of Paul Hart is almost worse than the sacking of AP !..Here is a man who saw over the demise of our near neighbours and himself looks set to replay the role of " the ghost of Harry past ". Merely being an ex-Pom**y manager is already a yellow card in the eyes of many fans..and a few bad results at the start only serve to make him a " dead man walking" . If PH chooses to sign some of the deadbeats from his former Pompey days..that will only rub more salt in the wound. I don't know what Marcus Liebherr had in mind for this season, but he surely must be turning in his grave (said with all due respect for a wonderful benefactor) ..to see the outcome in such a short time. I've been a Saints fan for 51 years, Nicola Cortese.. I only hope that you find the right formula for success now... because L2 is a very dismal place.

It's certainly more like Danny Wilson than Cortese. The BBC has a short film on dressing room banter on their Swindon homepage, and a short clip with Wilson. Whilst the two men look similar, it seems like Wilson to me.

.......but of course, however, let's be sure that the knee injury is properly healed..otherwise he'll be an expensive memeber of the rehab team!

but WHO is favourite to take over after AP ?. The decision is made but before the OFFICIAL announcement's comes ... WHO are you going for... .the list of presently "unemployed " managers is : Steve Coppel? Martin O'Neill ? Giancarlo Zola (an Italian ...?) Glenn Hoddle?. Sven-Göran Eriksson?. any more ...? ONE Name ...WHO ?

Jaidi has bags of experience and we need that at the back in certain situations. At his age, though still good he'll have to be "super fit" to get Martin out. But it is nice to have someone like him on the bench..if there were a serious injury then we don't have to depend on a unproven Reserve defender to come in. The one thing we need this season is a lot of strength in depth, and I think we are almost there.

this is a good thread ..sad old git. To be fair the manager has the ultimate responsibility but it depends on many factors; - does he had "suitable" players for the league they play in?. Are they properly fit? - are the players on form ..all the time? (recent comment from AP about senior players not pulling their weight). - every team depends on the form of their star players (Lambert last season ..MLT for a lot of the time in the 1990's) - manager's tactical ability ..not persisting with the same formation in every game, regardless of the opposition. - does the manager have respect in the dressing room? - do the owners have too high expectations from the team? - not forgetting the impatience of " fan power" which has got quite a few managers sacked over the years. - the woodwork...which has robbed many players of deserved goals. - and of course ..good officials who know the game, don't miss penalties or balls that crossed the line. aside from that... we deserve to get three points in every game.

even I worked that out ......but you aren't prepared to commit yourself, either... question was ....WHO ? do we really need ANOTHER poll?

yes I did but few people seemed to be suggesting candiates for the chop !

....who will he replace in midfield? My guess is Hammond .. or Schneiderlin.

Only trouble is you have to have a long memory. 20+ League goal were not uncommon in the old Div.2 in the early 60's but record breakers since then aren't so many ..in the last 35 years the names are few, but glorious; Ron Davies 1966/67 ...37 .---1967/68...28 ----1968/69..20 Mick Channon 1973/74...21 ---1974/75..20 -----1975/76...20 Ted MacDougall 1976/77...23 Phil Boyer 1979/80...23 Kevin Keegan 1981/82 ...26 Steve Moran ...1983/84 ...21 Colin Clarke ...1986/87...20 Matt Le Tissier...1989/90...20---(1990/91 only 19) ---1993/94...25---1994/95...20 James Beattie ...2002/03...23 Gregor Rasiak...200*/0*... 20 Ricky Lambert ...2009/10...31 younger fans who've only heard the names, can realise how great these players were ....whilst most of the above made their tally in good teams in moderate seasons, both Ron Davies and Matt Le Tissier were both single-handedly responsible for keeping the club free from relegation.

Sky Sports report that Greg Rasiak has moved on a free transfer to Limassol in Cyprus. Reason given was that at 31... he wouldn't get much football ahead of the younger players in the squad. Some Saints fans might give another excuse to counter that explanation. Lazy or not, GR was one of only four Saints players to have scored 20 goals in a season during the last 20 years. Maybe he'll end up playing against Marian Pahars !

................not for the fearful few I'm sure, but lots of us just want to pursue the fortunes of our club. As a 50 year fan, I'm disappointed that some people can only post negative threads and rarely praise, or encourage players and staff who are, after all, the real representatves of the club. ...and I've never boo-ed a Saints player in my life . They are, like us, just individuals trying to do a job...even if they do get paid (more than you) it goes with the territory and the career is short.

here I am agreeing with you AGAIN, Alpine. I think their ethical standards about ownership and future planning are way above the money-grabbing, asset-stripping mindset of some " so-called British entreprenuers." As long as the club is run well fiscally and scandal-free they will stick by us.

the statement includes the phrases; ......business partners and dear friends of MALI (MArcus LIebherr) my highlighting. (Catherine) ..will carry on the legacy ... ...and his ideas for the future.... I'd guess we'd fit into one of those categories..wouldn't you ?

Some reports suggest that ML died on Monday evening, in which case it obviously took time for the news to filter through to SFC. In retrospect, NC and AP certainly must have known by 7.45 PM Tuesday but fairly obviously didn't share the news BEFORE the match was played...someone else wrote that NC left the ground immediately after the game....perhaps to travel to Switzerland? Whatever else, it was a sad day, but if indeed it was Marcus' wish to carry through the Five year plan to the Prem...then I'm sure that NC will honour that , after all he took the deal to Marcus in the first place. Let's hope that this very sad event can galvanise the fan base and we can leave the petty squabbles aside and look forward. Strange that we've had so much negativity recently considering we are one of the few clubs in the Country who don't have huge debts !